Jess and Trisha offer romance recommendations for characters with diabetes, characters who are immigrants, characters who are dinosaurs (or dinosaur adjacent) and more!

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News:

Send us your favorite romances of 2025, your most anticipated of 2026, and/or your book club suggestions!!

Check out Book Riot’s amazing list of the Best Books of 2025!

Trisha mentioned the podcast Maintenance Phase and also the book What We Don’t Talk about When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon - check them both out. 

Trisha also mentioned Book Riot’s Grumpy/Grumpy romance list pulled together by R. Nassor.

Books Discussed:

Never Cross a Highlander by Lisa Rayne 

The Companion by EE Ottoman 

They Ain’t Proper by M.B. Guel

Any romance written by Diana Quincy

The Heart of the Blade duology by Sherry Thomas

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

Give Me A Reason by Stephanie Nicole Norris

Pulling Doubles by Christina C. Jones

Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden

Loving Queen by Saffron Brooks

Captured by Siren Crow

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

His Convenient Husband by Robin Covington

Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa

The Broposal by Sonora Reyes

Trade Me by Courtney Milan

When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley

Romance Class authors, including Carla de Guzman, Tara Frejas, and Mina V. Esguerra

The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish by Xue Shan Fei Hu

The Anatomy of Magic by J.C. Cervantes

Anything by Therese Beharrie (one option is Single Dads Club)

Nalini Singh’s contemporary romances (one series starts with Rock Addiction)

Love in Color by Bobu Babalola

Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Something About You by Julie James

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan

Office Hours by Katrina Jackson

White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter

Digging Up Love by Chandra Blumberg

Anger Bang by Avery Flynn

A Sharp Endless Need by Marisa Crane

Play You For It by Samantha Saldivar

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

Feast While You Can by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta

A Little Kissing Between Friends by Chencia C. Higgins

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings

The Long Game by Elena Armas

The Hate Project by Kris Ripper

After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian

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Let us know what you’re reading, what you’re thinking, and what you’re thinking about what you’re reading! As always, you can find Jess and Trisha at the WIR email address ([email protected]). You can also find us on Twitter (@jessisreading), or Instagram (@jess_is_reading and @trishahaleybrown), and Jess is even on TikTok (@jess_isreading).

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